Some articles of manufacture are fabricated using manual techniques. For example, conventional techniques used to fabricate railings include laying out individual pieces of a railing onto a surface, such as a table or floor, by hand using chalk, markers, clamps, and/or jigs. Several measurements of the individual pieces relative to one another are usually taken to ensure that the pieces are properly positioned. These measurements can be done using tape measures, rulers, and protractors, so that the pieces can be attached to one another in a particular manner or design. With the various pieces laid out, one can view the assembly and make changes to the position of individual railing pieces before they are attached together.